I don’t know yet how I will vote in the Democratic primary for governor.

I do know Kelly Fryer is the one who speaks to my heart, with her talk of social justice and her promise that “everything I do will be through a human-rights lens.”

Fryer gets who government works for

What a wonderful change that would be from the government-as-business model that sees meeting human needs as a net cost, instead of a worthwhile investment.

How refreshing to be reminded that our sacred national compact is with “we, the people.” It’s about bringing our resources together to serve the needs of people – not businesses or corporations.

Fryer’s vision is to make Arizona the center of a “new economic boom” based on renewable energy, small business and effective local (district) public schools, she says.

Charter schools should be 'rare?' That's gutsy

She wants to make charters “transparent, accountable and rare,” which is a gutsy statement in a state that genuflects to school choice.

Yet extensive reporting by The Republic's Craig Harris has shown charter owners are getting rich running charters while old-fashioned public schools are starved for resources. The state's current leadership doesn't seem to care.

We need a governor who understands that old-fashioned publicly run, public schools remain the great leveler, the great hope that any kid can succeed – even the one whose parents have no interest in school choice.

'Pain trickles up.' Good point

Fryer is a former minister and head of the YWCA in Tucson, which is engaged in a variety of efforts to empower migrant women and others who get left behind in our society.

And it is good to have these points made on a high-profile setting like a governor’s race.

#RedforEd lesson = Women are fed up

Yet she touts her credentials as a CEO to demonstrate her ability to lead and get people to come together around a shared vision. Her leadership has been in the non-profit world.

Nevertheless, the model of governor as CEO is one Republicans have been selling for years. It never appealed to me. We need more public involvement. Not another top-down model.

She says the “number one” takeaway from the #RedforEd walkout and political activism “is that women have had it ... women are fed up.”

She buttresses her assessment by pointing out that teaching would not be such a low-paying job if it weren’t dominated by women.

Women have reason to be mad

For Fryer, the Women’s March in January, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, Save Our Schools and #RedforEd are all manifestations of women’s frustration. You could throw in #MeToo and the fact that we have a known misogynist in the White House.

Yes. Women have plenty to be mad about.

And, yes again. #RedforEd fits into the larger context of societal needs that have been ignored so long they are ready to boil over.

Fryer would not be Arizona’s first woman governor. Four of Arizona’s last six governors have been women. Two Republicans: Jane Dee Hull and Jan Brewer. Two Democrats: Rose Mofford and Janet Napolitano.

Some good. Some bad.

Her election would be a leap forward

Fryer would be the first governor with a same-sex spouse. Even though she makes no secret of her orientation, there would be plenty of clucking on the GOP side of Arizona’s Legislature when her wife accompanies her to the swearing-in ceremony.

That would be something to see. In a state that has flirted with some nasty anti-LGBT legislation, it would be a symbolic leap forward.

Fryer has the scrappiness of the third person in what many consider a two-man race.

She says she’s fighting a “media blackout,” which sounds a little like blaming the media for her lack of name recognition.

But will Fryer's message resonate?

She is the provocateur pushing the Democrats back to their roots.

If she wins the primary, the mainstream – right and left – would react much as it did when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a community activist and organizer, used a socialist message to upset the well-funded Democratic party stalwart Rep. Joe Crowley in the June Democratic primary in New York.

Arizona isn’t New York. The GOP's me-first message sells well here. Fryer wants to change the value system in state government.

Her campaign is a chance to elevate human-centric ideas in a state where people and public amenities get the budget crumbs – if there are any.

In this state, where so many people have been left behind, it’s heartwarming to hear unabashed support for making things a little more fair.